"Jerry Jones is the only person who can actually fix this and he also might be the only person who doesn't know it is broken."- 12/30/13
Daily Commentary on the Dallas Sports Scene - By Bob Sturm - Sportsradio 1310, The Ticket

Thursday, September 29, 2005

If you read this blog, you know how I feel about the hockey that has been played so far in the preseason. But www.hockeybuzz.com is getting this for the first time from me:

I don't want to be the first one to say it, and honestly, I am pretty sure I am not. But, I am very concerned about "Gary Bettman's New For You 2005 NHL". Now, granted, I have only seen about 4 games so far, and they have all been played with between 50-70% minor league hockey players, but this sport that I love appears to have undergone a substantial facelift in certain areas, and although it is met with general disdain to knee jerk this early in the proceedings, I must tell you that I am concerned.

Of course, it is quickly admitted here that anyone reading or writing on this website is not the target audience of "Gary Bettman's New NHL". We are the few and the proud (they tell us) who loved this sport for what it was. Sure, some alterations make plenty of sense in any sport, but the game itself was exciting and frankly, one of my favorite things to do. But alas, they wanted their "relaunch" in an effort to turn this sport into basketball on ice, and guys like me sit and wonder what we are looking at right now.

I have been asked to make predictions this week, and I feel more qualified to try to explain nuclear fusion than guess what might happen in the Pacific Division. This sport has been tampered with, and everything you know is wrong. Colorado, St Louis, and Dallas have been strong western forces for years, and now I read that learned publications don't think they will even make the playoffs.

New rules are everywhere. Some make sense (new icing rule, tag-up offsides, no red line) and some make no sense (goalie area) but combined they will really make the NHL season impossible to figure out for a good long while.

Now let me voice my concern. I admit that clutching and grabbing in the neutral zone has been a problem in this sport. Sure, I want to see my skaters in full flight through the zone as much as the next guy. But, if battles in the corners and in the crease are a thing of the past, and this former contact sport is now one that resembles soccer, then let's get Cammi Granato a sweater and play co-ed hockey. The announcers (who must sell this sport to continue to get paid) assure me that they love the product, but so far, so bland to me. The contact is almost nonexistent. The venom is, too. I realize it is September and previous September games had no emotion either in other years, but now I am paying a lot more attention.

I hope I am wrong. I hope next Wednesday the venom and violence of hockey returns. I want intimidation to be the same portion of the sport it has always been. I don't want to watch hockey robots play technically perfect hockey and skate back to their benches without a nasty word for anyone. Let's hope that in an effort to fix a game that might not be broken on the ice, they didn't screw it up. Stay Tuned.

Love,

Knee-Jerk Sturm

Note: I was happy to see the first “post-whistle” scrum of the preseason last night in the Stars game vs. St Louis. Players actually talking to eachother and a small amount of shoving. Nice…

"I'm pretty certain this is my last start here," Rogers said. "Actually, I'm extremely certain. I think everybody has made their positions known.

"In a way, I'm kind of relieved. I know I won't have to bend over backwards to make it happen. I think sometimes in the past, my desire to be here has been the overriding factor for me, and at least I know where I stand."

When asked about the blueliner's hit on Kings teammate Jeremy Roenick in a preseason game Sunday night, Avery did not hold back digging into Gauthier and Quebec-born NHLers.

"I think it was a clean hit," he explained on Tuesday. "I think it was typical of most French guys in our league with a visor on, running around and playing tough and not back anything up."

"I'd think if a guy like Brett Hull was coming up the middle, somebody probably wouldn't have stepped up and hit him, but like I said, a typical move from a guy wearing a visor that certainly doesn't like to get scratched at all."

Tim Kurkjian reported on ESPN Radio yesterday that Rafael Palmeiro actually snuck into the Baltimore clubhouse Tuesday morning, before any of his teammates had arrived at the ballpark, to clean out his locker. So incredibly sad.

And finally, this email, from someone who then cancelled the email address:

Name: John Up YoursEmail: BaD_Losers@yahoo.comWant To Be On Maillist: N

Comments: All you guys have done is talk about what a sorry game the A$M/BU game will be this weekend with A$M having to play poor little BU. Well let me tell you this - take the points and BU you slobs. I shouldn't even help you losers that much but I feel sorry for you. A$M may win but it will be by the skin of their teeth.

Wednesday, September 28, 2005

Hicks confirmed Tuesday that he will meet with Hart next week to discuss "what's best for the organization." Hicks said the meeting has been a yearly event, but when asked if he anticipated Hart returning for a fifth season as general manager, Hicks could not provide an answer.

"We have a gentlemen's understanding to sit down at the end of the year and see where we are going," Hicks said. "This has been going on for a while. It's not new."

Here are the week 3 turnover numbers, with the winners listed followed by the turnover differential in that given game. This week, the turnover winner was only 6-4-4, taking the record for the season to 27-10-9 or only 73% so far. 73% is the lowest win percentage I have seen since we started this bit in 2003.

Very unconvincing numbers so far. I assure you that it will get over 80% by the end of the year, like it always does.

And now, on to some quickhits from some of the NFL Games I reviewed last night:

New England 23, Pittsburgh 20

James Farrior looks tremendous for Pittsburgh…Rodney Harrison’s injury was sickening. He is done for a long time…Antwan Randel El’s stupid lateral to Hines Ward is the early leader for “dumbest play of the year”…Richard Seymour is not just good, he is dominant, and approaching great…Willie Parker was an undrafted free agent in 2004 if you were wondering where he came from…Both teams left plenty of points on the field with horrible red zone turnovers…Heath Miller will be a great TE for Pittsburgh. Big time blocker and catcher…Tim Dwight makes New England dangerous on special teams, too….

Tampa Bay 17, Green Bay 16

Al Harris is one of the more solid defenders on a defense without many…Cadillac Williams is great, but the rest of that Tampa Bay offense is very average…Left Tackle may cost the Bucs before long, if you consider Brian Griese getting hurt a huge loss…Tampa got the ball with 5:10 left and a 1-point lead and never gave the ball up again…Green Bay really didn’t look that bad on either side of the ball, except for turnovers. You will never turn the ball over 4 times in the NFL and win. Favre cannot take chances with this team. But, he can’t help himself…

Cincinnati 24, Chicago 7

Odell Thurman is a great looking rookie LB for the Bengals…The Bears DL is still very good and gets constant pressure on the QB while playing well against the run…Carson Palmer looks so comfortable in the pocket…Deltha O’Neal sure doesn’t look like that failed bit in Denver anymore…The Bears having Muhsin Muhammad is like a fish owning a bicycle, they really have no use for him and can’t get him the ball…Kyle Orton is realizing this is not Purdue anymore…After 3 Q, the Bears had more yards, but 5 turnovers…Thomas Jones looks really strong, and Cedric Benson is not even getting a look yet. Nor should he, I suppose…Chad Johnson is so good right now that it is scary…The Bengals are no joke…

Indianapolis 13, Cleveland 6

Dennis Northcutt had a great punt return called back. He has developed into a nice weapon…Rueben Droughns is running hard and keeping himself above Lee Suggs and William Green in rotation…Colts having a hard time being patient. The Browns never put more than 7 in the box, forcing Manning to take the short gains…Dwight Freeney is still unblockable…Dallas Clark did not make any tough catches, in fact, demonstrated some drops in the first half…Edge James is just an absolute workhorse now for the Colts. On one 3rd Q FG drive, he got the ball almost every play of 8 minute drive…With Braylon Edwards, Antonio Bryant, and Northcutt, the Browns have a decent WR group…In 3 games, the Colts have given up a total of 16 points!...Colts OL is very underrated. Manning never gets touched…

Philadelphia 23, Oakland 20

Lamont Jordan may be fine, but when I see #34 in Oakland colors, I am looking for Bo Jackson still…This Eagles defense is still the best in the business if you ask me, and it starts with Trotter and Dawkins…The Woodsen versus Owens battle was entertaining all day, and neither guy had a huge edge. In fact, Owens has had two good battles this season, after opening night with DeAngelo Hall…Warren Sapp very active…Raiders TE Courtney Anderson is another weapon made better with the Randy Moss deep threat. Kind of like Jermaine Wiggins last year in Minnesota…Eagles deep threat on Sunday? Bryant Westbrook, when they get him isolated against a LB it is too easy…Robert Gallery, solid RT, Penalty machine, though…Kerry Collins will still throw the “up for grabs” pass without warning…

Dolphins 27, Panthers 24

Do not like those Carolina Blue Jerseys…Frerotte threw it to Chambers 4 straight plays on opening drive…Ronnie Brown runs strong and scores 1st TD in NFL …What a performance by Frerotte in 1Q, Dolphins up 14-3…Ricky Proehl still a bigger target than Kerry Colbert? Why?...Unintentional comedy play of the day is the Panthers at the Dolphins 1, with Stephen Davis turning around to call timeout while Delhomme is trying to hand him the ball, and is subsequently mauled by a confused Dolphins defender who commits a face mask Personal Foul in the process…Wes Welker caught a kickoff with one foot out of bounds, using a rule that moves the ball to the 40, despite the ball being in bounds (I had no idea)…Chris Chambers burned Chris Gamble for big TD…Deshaun Foster not being used enough, I think…Steve Smith is quite the weapon when healthy…Zach Thomas still the centerpiece of Miami’s defense…Sam Madison has 2 PF’s in 2 minutes in 2nd half…Miami drive early in 4th is all Ronnie Brown, WOW!...Delhomme with killer INT at 2:00 warning to cost Carolina the game…

Texas A&M enters Big 12 play ranked last in the conference in total defense after allowing 493 yards to Division I-AA Texas State on Thursday.

"It starts with me," said defensive coordinator Carl Torbush, who added that the Aggies "have not gotten better-than-average play from any position. That's disappointing for me because I felt like we would be better at this point than we have been."

Coach Dennis Franchione backed his staff, noting that its 2002 Alabama team ranked third in the nation in total defense.

"I know what this group can do," he said, "and I'm not shaken at all."

A&M is young defensively, with five sophomores starting vs. Texas State. But the Aggies are experienced, returning nine players who started at least four games last season. Torbush said talent, leadership and effort are not the problem.

Tuesday, September 27, 2005

College football game of the year Candidate? I was thinking so about 10:30 last night, 4 hours after the game began in Baton Rouge, as Tennessee returned from the dead and beat LSU 30-27 in Overtime …JaMarcus Russell gave this game away with a horrendous INT up 24-14 in his own territory that was returned to the LSU 1 yard line.

Marlins general manager Larry Beinfest said Burnett has been asked to leave the team and will not be offered a multiyear contract during the offseason. The decision came a day after the pitcher said the team plays scared because manager Jack McKeon and the coaching staff are too negative. Burnett popped off after losing his sixth decision in a row at Atlanta.

Superfan Larry Primeau, a k a the Packalope, has been forced to shed his trademark Pack helmet with its deer antlers because new stadium protocols specifically mention "antlers" as potential weapons.

In preparing a spoof on the antlers ban, show producers contacted Olsen, the midday DJ on KXXR Radio (93.7 FM) when he's out of costume. "They wanted me to play on the fact that Vikings and Packers fans aren't very fond of each other," Olsen said.

He happily obliged. "I told some Packer jokes, I said the town of Green Bay smelled bad and just ripped on Green Bay fans."

And here is some Tuesday Morning Email:

I've noticed Fraley has had a new article posted on the DMN web site since 8/14, and he is not listed in the Sports Day Columnists link I used to use. To me, he is as good a writer as we have in town. Given your show's association with him, I figured you might know if he has left town or something. Just curious. Thanks.

Fraley has taken a small leave of absence I have been told. He will still write baseball, but he is living elsewhere with his wife (she has a 10-month job thing in California I am told) until next summer, and will resume his column writing at that time. So, “Just Venting” is on hold….

Instead of those stupid little trinkets they give out to fans at certain home games, the Cowboys should have BARF BAG DAY. During the 4th quarter of the next home game, vendors walk to each section passing out BARF BAGS to those who may feel queasy watching the Cowboys try to hold a lead. They can even have special souvenir Roy Williams Barf Bags where the bottom of the bag falls out preventing it from catching anything. Proceeds can go to the "Get a Strong Safety Signing Bonus" fund.Jeff Axelrod

No comment.

Let me tell you one thing that burns me up about drafting a Sunbelt player over the best defensive player in the entire country last year and that’s watching Derrick Johnson run wild, picking up right where he left off at UT for the Chiefs. If Ware isn’t as good as DJ, then failed draft pick. Maybe Ware can play, maybe not, regardless, I will continue to compare him to DJ and that will be the barometer on if that was a good pick.

BrentIrving, TX

I do not disagree with you. I think they made the right choice, but after watching Johnson destroy the Big 12 like he did for years, the Cowboys took quite a chance…

Looking at the Jets quarterback situation- does it not speak volumes about the character of Carter. All kinds of replacements being called in- all holding a big bag of nothing. Yet here is Quincy, who just last year played for this team, and not one news story has reported any interest by the Jets in a reunion.

Thanks for listening,Bryan

That is a fine point. Dale Hansen must be puzzled how Quincy is not being chased by every team in football, given how great he was. He is now being treated like cancer around the league.

They just aren’t good enough. They had the 25th best defense last year, and they spent $50,000 in signing bonuses in the off-season. They had 3 Top-100 picks, and only spent 1 on their defense, and that was on a small-college safety.

Monday, September 26, 2005

Last weekend was some pretty strong college football action, despite the fact that none of our local colleges (that I care about—Big 12 only, please) played games of any substance whatsoever. But, we did learn that USC can handle adversity, Wisconsin can beat Michigan despite having a QB who cannot play QB, Virginia Tech is freaking awesome, Tennessee has an absurdly tough schedule in September and may not be that great anyway, Ohio State is good despite losing to Texas, Iowa is not good, Miami is good despite their loss to FSU, and Minnesota has a RB we may want to look at.

Now, here is my Week #4 set of “the 1 player that stuck out to me in a game I watched that I wasn’t very aware of”. Therefore, just assume I think Adrian Peterson, Vince Young, and Reggie Bush are good. These are dudes that have stuck out to me in a given game, and maybe on draft day they will be solid NFL players or maybe they won’t be, but they sure caught my football eye.

LSU Skylar Green, SR, WR/KR #5 vs. Tenn. Speed Burner coming back from Injury. Like the QB, too, but I figure you are up to speed on his fine work.

I used to preach this on the air a few years ago, and while I was watching the Cowboys take a victory knee last night that mantra popped back in my head:

“In the NFL, it’s not “how?” it’s “how many?””

Here is the point of that little saying. In nearly every game in this league, both teams could claim that they had the right to victory. That is why on Monday you hear people say that they weren’t beat, they beat themselves. Take the Cowboys first 3 games: They could have lost both games they won, and they should have won the game that they lost. Therefore, it is all about closing out the games. With all of the stats in this league that we all discuss and analyze, only one stat matters: Wins versus Losses.

Did you deserve to win yesterday? Yes and No. But, do you get to post another number on your “win total”? Then mission accomplished in San Francisco. Now, on to Oakland.

On to a few random thoughts:

Bledsoe through 3 games is better than anyone could have ever imagined. On the final and the most important drive of yesterday’s game, Bledsoe led the Cowboys right down the field and his stats for just that drive looked like this: 5 for 6, 72 yards, 1 Touchdown, 1 2-pt conversion. I am amazed at his performance, and he is being helped by receivers who are ready to play.

Terry Glenn and Keyshawn Johnson demonstrated how important and crucial they really are. Glenn is a legit deep threat (as long as he stays healthy) and I swear Keyshawn catches anything thrown in his area. He is really, really money. I think the league’s hypesters are ignoring Keyshawn since his falling out with Gruden, but he is as close to Michael Irvin as you can get when it comes to fighting for a ball and demonstrating great hands.

I think I stand behind that.

Larry Allen, after squaring off against a Jose Cortez, is now being excused as this fiery competitor that just hates to lose? Since when? I remember less than 2 years ago his owner scolding him back onto the field when he took himself out and I also seem to remember the annual “I am too fat” sessions in training camp where they have to poke and prod him back into shape. Wow, what a competitor. That was a goofy decision, regardless of what Cortez said to the deep snapper, to assault him on national tv. But, Moose and Jerry were happy to stand up for him...

"I've never seen us do so many things you'd like to take back and win in spite of ourselves," Jones said. "If you can manage to win a game like we did today, then you have to look at the positives. One of the big positives was No. 11 – I'll draw a big circle around him – because we don't win without him."

The Cowboys needed Bledsoe's 363 passing yards and three touchdowns because the game started poorly for Dallas, which didn't lead until Johnson's touchdown catch. For the second time this season, an opponent scored a touchdown on its first possession.

Dallas pulled within a point on Jason Witten's 6-yard touchdown catch, but Cortez missed the extra point attempt – the first miss of his career – after a low snap. Allen yelled at him as he stalked back to the sideline, then shoved the kicker in the face after he responded to the criticism. Witten separated the players.

"I didn't have a problem with it. If the ball is placed on someone's helmet, you're supposed to make an extra point," Jones said. "I understand Larry's frustration. That just showed how much he cares. I wish everyone cared that much."

At the end of the game there was another debacle, though not of Rattay's making. In his own stadium, operating out of the shotgun, Rattay could not hear. His team was called for a false start. The huge number of Cowboys fans in attendance were making a deafening roar to help the defense.

``I'd like the 49er fans to keep their tickets,'' Nolan said. ``That would be nice.''

Packers Summary, Week 3: Loss at home to Tampa Bay. The Pack has now been reduced to having to play perfect at home to beat a team that sucked in 2004. They cannot play perfect with Favre rolling the dice way too often and turning the ball over. Yes, for the first time, I look forward to the future after:

-the firing of Mike Sherman (who should have been fired after 4th and 26 in Philly)-the retirement of Favre (he can stay as long as he wants, but Green Day is unloading their equipment as we speak)-the allowing of Ahman Green to sign elsewhere this off-season (he is too old to give a big contract to)

Everything works in cycles in the NFL (unless you like the Cardinals) and there is little doubt that the cycle that began in 1992 is done. Time to start another one.

Here is a little reading to get you ready for the Niners tomorrow. In watching the 49ers game in Philadelphia, you can seriously make the case that no team in football has less talent on the field on offense than these guys. The Cowboys simply must beat a team like this if they wish to see the playoffs. Cowboys 27-10.

In the 1990s, the Dallas Cowboys and 49ers met regularly as playoff heavyweights. Sunday, they will come together seeking to re-establish themselves as teams to be reckoned with.

Although the stakes are different in the renewal of the rivalry, it still has a certain appeal and serves as a reminder of the high-stakes meetings of the past.``I've had so many ticket requests this week, it's been ridiculous,'' 49ers center Jeremy Newberry said. ``I bought over 50 for this game and I probably could have used 50 more if I could have bought them.''

The game at Monster Park, which is sold out, marks Dallas' first San Francisco visit since 1997.

The 49ers have won two of the three meetings since and lead the series 16-13-1. However, the Cowboys have won five of the seven postseason encounters. Those victories included all three playoff meetings in 1970-72, when the 49ers were coached by Dick Nolan, father of current 49ers coach Mike Nolan. The elder Nolan had served as Dallas Coach Tom Landry's defensive coordinator before coming to the 49ers in 1968.

``It was kind of the student, in my father, vs. his mentor, in Tom Landry,'' Mike Nolan said. ``But it didn't really become a rivalry until about '70 when they played in the championship game.''

The 49ers finally got past the Cowboys en route to the first of their five Super Bowl titles, in 1982. The teams met in the NFC Championship game in 1992-94, a run that ended with the 49ers denying Dallas' bid to win a third consecutive Super Bowl title.

``They were exciting to watch,'' said Newberry, who was raised in Antioch. ``That was the real Super Bowl.''

the 49ers, who rank 31st in total offense. They also have generated the fewest first downs in the league (20), and their 4-for-19 third-down conversion rate is the second-worst in the NFL, behind only the Houston Texans.

The 49ers' past four first-round picks are Alex Smith (a backup), receiver Rashaun Woods (inactive for the first two games), Kwame Harris (moved from left tackle to right) and Mike Rumph (moved from cornerback to safety).

This is not to say that the 49ers are wrong for easing Smith into action. Two of the other Week 2 quarterback standouts -- the Cincinnati Bengals' Carson Palmer and the New York Giants' Eli Manning -- spent most or all of their rookie seasons watching and learning from the sideline.

Thursday, September 22, 2005

You may remember Judy Cunningham from the July 12th blog …She is a classic fan…Well, on Thursday’s show, I said something wacky like, “I have the best wife in the whole world”. I really put about a moment of thought into it, as I love my wife and all but how could anyone know that their wife is the best? Seems pretty arbitrary to me. Anyway, this brought a huge fan like Judy out of her hole.

Most people in the radio business have people who hate them. In fact, I think everyone does, but they likely know enough not to continue a dialogue all afternoon with that person. But, I can’t help it. Partly because I am who I am, and partly because so many of you enjoy it when I post these e-mail battles on the blog. So, I recommend you read the above link first to get some context, but, enjoy the below game of e-mail volleyball between me and the #1 fan of the show:

Best wife in the whole world........................???? You are a PUSS Bob. Hi to the Messcan.

I really do hate you.

At this point, normal people hit “delete” and move on with their life. I sure wish I was normal…

I respond:

Sent: Thursday, September 22, 2005 3:08 PMSubject: Re:

ok-

Thanks for listening to BaD Radio!

Bob

Judy writes:

Ya right.....listening??? I was listening only to cross talk, not you two jerk off Yankee bastards.

Bob writes:

whatever- nice job in the civil war-

Thanks for listening to BaD Radio!

Bob

Judy writes:

Put on your sombrero and eat a tamale. Better yet, go to Taco Bell since she can't cook.

Civil War ??? That must be on the X-Box...otherwise you wouldn't even be able to spell it. Dork...............

JC

Bob writes:

your racism is most impressive-

Thanks for listening to BaD Radio!

Bob

Judy writes:

I am not a racist............I just hate Yankees, and that is my right as a native Texan. I could throw a few more in there too but I won't. Texans really do hate the Yankee and you need to always.......... until the day you die... remember that. I saw a half breed the other day and that was a lovely thing to see, very interesting. However, not many of those where I live...thank goodness. Keep a plugging....

Bob writes:

you are not a racist and yet you continually (for more than a year) take shots at my Mexican wife and children- whatever you say, Judy- You should be proud-

Thanks for listening to BaD Radio!

Bob

Judy writes:

I am. Thank you. Don't think I'm alone either.

I'm out

Bob writes:

of course not- there are plenty of racists out there- Congrats-

Thanks for listening to BaD Radio!

Bob

Judy writes:

Do you want mild sauce with that ???

Bob, who should have given up a while ago, writes:

you can't be this absurd- But at least you are white, Judy- Way to go-

Thanks for listening to BaD Radio!

Bob

Judy writes:

You got it...... WHITE & WRIGHT and despise the Yankee! ! ! Anything wrong with that? NO there isn't.

The only thing I would like to have from you is.........for bad radio to be off the air at three pm sharp. I start at three and fight through 14 minutes of the irritating Yankee voices just to hear the "real professionals." Why is your voice so squirrelly? Nasal.Can you fix that.

How about some guacamole with that sir ???

At this point, I went to dinner with my "Mexican" family. We actually had lasagna. It was lovely.

By the way, since we are doing the morning show on Friday, this will have to do for the Friday blog, at least until much later in the day. Alarm set for 4:30. I hope it goes off.

Here are the week 2 turnover numbers, with the winners listed followed by the turnover differential in that given game. This week, the turnover winner was 10-4-2, taking the record for the season to 21-6-5 or only 78% so far.

Since I ran the numbers last week, many want to know the record of just being +1. Bill Parcells actually brought this up in his press conference (in fact, I believe his numbers were wrong):

Records for teams that finish:

+5 = 5-0+4 = 2-0+3 = 2-0+2 = 4-1+1 = 8-5

These numbers do prove what one e-mailer pointed out, that +1 is not near the convincing stat that I thought it was, but we are only through 2 weeks into this. Stay tuned. It also proves only 1 team in all of football has lost a game this year when being a +2 or better: The Dallas Cowboys on Monday Night. Surely, if you were recovering from Monday, that number made you sick again…

Also, I could not help myself; I had to drop the extra $99 to get the NFL Sunday Ticket Superfan. Superfan is a pretty good scam (it makes HD subscribers now pay to get HD NFL games for the first time ever), but, they do have a genius idea of editing the games in such a way that you can watch every play of a game in roughly 22 minutes. It is so wonderful. The games are available after Monday Night Football is completed, and you can pretty much watch 3 NFL games in just over an hour.

So, yesterday, among other things, I watched Chargers-Broncos, Steelers-Texans, and Seahawks-Falcons. And, I have a few quickhits.

Ron Dayne turned up in Denver after his failed stay in New York, and didn’t touch the ball the whole game until the final drive. Then, he was unstoppable leading to the final score for the Broncos. I have no idea what the Broncos are doing at RB from week to week, but he appears to be another option…Texans CB Phillip Buchanon who was once a top-10 pick (EDIT 10:40am: 17th pick actually in 2002) in the draft for the Raiders wins my award for the “sorriest attempt at avoiding a tackle” on a Willie Parker touchdown run. The dude seriously had a 1-on-1 chance to bring him down and almost ran the other way…Antonio Gates is back and Drew Brees will throw it at him no matter how tightly he is covered. When he is not open, they still force it in there, and you know what? He still catches everything….Algae Crumpler may be a great TE in Atlanta, but when you are far and away the best target on your team, your team should likely not be cutting Peerless Price. On the other hand, we still don’t know Peerless is any good, do we?...Given the play of Gates and Crumpler, do we still think Jason Witten is a no-brain "top 5" TE? Tony Gonzalez, Gates, Crumpler most likely take 3 of those top 5 spots…David Carr gets hit a ton, and the Texans offense is still a mess. They have now fired their Offensive Coordinator, but that OL will still struggle under the new OC. Of course, Pittsburgh’s defense is really, really good. That Troy Polamalu is amazing on the blitz from safety…Why aren’t the Seahawks better every year? In watching these 6 teams yesterday, clearly the best looking QB was Matt Hasselbeck (although Big Ben was really good, too). Hasselbeck is just so stinking accurate most the time that it is hard to believe they could have that much talent on that Seattle offense and still have nothing to show for it…Gerard Warren showed up all day on that Denver DL, Courtney Brown and Ebenezer Ekuban? Not so much…

A&M president Robert Gates, who made the final call on whether to cancel or reschedule the football game, called it an "exceptionally difficult decision." He said he was swayed by the desire of both teams to play and of students to attend, and the fact that the contest's timing allowed Texas State to return home safely and A&M students to leave campus if they so choose.

Yet A&M hopes that relatively few fans show up. Gates urged fans who live outside the Bryan-College Station area to stay off the roads, which will probably be packed with evacuees leaving coastal areas. Gates added that hotels are not available in Bryan-College Station tonight.

"Let me be clear: We are holding this game primarily for the students," he said in a statement.

Ovechkin, the first player taken in the 2004 draft, made his debut for the Capitals last night against the Sabres. The club had purposely -- and wisely -- held him out of the first two preseason games so he could be unveiled in front of the home folks. Alas, there weren't many home folks to unveil him in front of, 4,500 by one estimate. Such is the challenge facing the Caps as they try to re-establish a place for themselves in the Washington market.

Wow, the Capitals don’t have hardcore fans? What is next, will they tell us ice is cold?

Wednesday, September 21, 2005

1) That crucial holding call on Flozell Adams is being ridiculed as a conspiracy against the Cowboys. Well, I am here to tell you that while that was not the worst offense of holding ever recorded, it absolutely was a proper call. He had his left arm wrapped around the Redskins DE and otherwise stood basically behind the player. That is textbook, kids. I realize the penalty killed the Cowboys, but your beef is with the $25 million Left Tackle, not the refs.

2) And while we are speaking of the refs, thank them for blowing the call on the Sean Taylor hit on Patrick Crayton.

3) Terry Glenn and Keyshawn Johnson demonstrated how important and crucial they really are. Glenn is a legit deep threat (as long as he stays healthy) and I swear Keyshawn catches anything thrown in his area. He is really, really money. I think the league’s hypesters are ignoring Keyshawn since his falling out with Gruden, but he is as close to Michael Irvin as you can get when it comes to fighting for a ball and demonstrating great hands. Of course, it might have been nice to see Glenn run his route deep enough on 4th and 4, but…

5) You must really ask the question why Parcells and Zimmer stopped blitzing for the most part after Roy’s sack of Brunell. They rushed only 4 gassed DL in the late stages who got no pressure on the Skins QB.

6) I still am interested if Julius Jones can remain healthy with a Curtis Martin-type workload. Love the kid, but every game he looks beat up, and they keep handing him the ball. To compound my feelings, he is on the sideline with the Cowboys having the ball deep in Skins territory early (Anthony Thomas was in) and late (Tyson Thompson).

7) You must also ask Terrence Newman what he was thinking on that 4th and 2 when Brunell found a wide open James Thrash, Newman was totally lost on the play and that was his guy. Blown assignment at the most horrendous time.

8) Seems like the Cowboys will have to decide between Al Johnson and Andre Gurode pretty soon. A platoon at center will lead to more fumbled exchanges, and continuity is required at that position. Personally, I think Johnson is the better player, but Gurode has the size advantage.

9) Why did they not at least TRY the field goal at the end of the half? I realize their kicker is a spare and that 54 yards is a long way, but what did you have to lose? I mean besides the game.

10) Daniel Snyder is officially annoying.

Hockey is sort of back. Tuesday night had the Edmonton Oilers in town to play the Dallas Stars for the first hockey game in the city (and the league) in roughly 16 months. I love the sport. Hopefully, by now you know that. But, I do have to ask if the Emperor is wearing clothes or not.

The Announcers, Ralph and Razor, assure me that the product is better. The players are buying in, the coaches are buying in, and I am led to believe that everyone is pleased with the sport. Jim Lites assured me that he really likes the action of the preseason during his interview with Ralphie.

But, whether it is Ralph, Razor, Lites, Guerin, or Turco we should all remember that they are being paid by hockey, and they can gain plenty if the sport is successful. They want it to be good, and yes, they need it to be good. Even if the product isn’t that great, they will assure us it is, and many times, we will nod and agree. But, 20 power plays, like we saw Tuesday, isn’t that great.

Will we see a difference in the product? And will it be a difference for the better? No one knows. Trust me. No matter how strenuously they assure us it is better, they don’t know.

So, in last night’s game, there were 10 goals. Wow, that is great. But, there were also 20 power plays. That sucks. That means of 60 minutes of hockey, 40 or so were spent with one team short-handed (rough estimate, but you get what I mean). And there is the rub.

In an effort to put the genie back in the bottle, the referees must train the NHL’s players to re-learn the sport of hockey. In doing so, they can either call a TON of penalties, or fail in their mission to change the sport. Those are the only two choices they have.

So, they really must call everything. When this happens, they turn the game into a plodding, and yes, ponderous contest of Power Play versus Power Play. 5 on 5 hockey is the beauty of the sport, but that is gone for now.

And, now the really, really concerning dilemma: Hockey will have a short time to show the world that their product is better. Maybe 1 game, maybe 1 month, the average non-hockey P1 will give it a chance, but it won’t be a long one. So, Joe Sports Fan decides to give hockey another go, and he is all geared up for opening night of the Stars season. He buys a ticket or tunes in, and all he sees is call after call and power play after power play. It sucks. He hears that this is cleaning up the game, but he is bored and frustrated that they have decided to take physical play out of hockey. He checks out and watches basketball.

By the time the players figure out how to play by their sport’s new standards, many fans will have been turned off by this most painful transition time. You see, in my opinion, October 2005 will have a huge hockey audience. Curiosity will bring many into the sport for a look-see. Sadly, October 2005 is also the time where the refs and league officials will be attempting to put their genie of clutching and grabbing back in its bottle. Good Luck. You are going to need it.

You almost wish they could re-learn the rules to their sport behind closed doors without the world watching, and then unveil their new product when they are all comfortable with what you can and cannot do so that this painful process would not turn the world off. I think the final product will be beautiful, but remember, we don’t know for sure.

Despite a year off in which billionaires fought millionaires over how to split up the fans' money, there seemed little dissent among the announced crowd of 15,264. The return of the NHL from a full-season lockout was more relief than rejection, more anticipation than apathy.

---

There still is work to be done, of course. The Stars in 2003-04 never had a preseason crowd below 17,900. And whereas Stars president Jim Lites said he was ecstatic his sales numbers are more than 80 percent of what they were in 2003-04, that also leaves room for improvement.

"You can say I guaranteed it, yes,'' Peterson said Monday, hardly traumatized by San Francisco's 42-3 loss in Philadelphia. "I think we're going to play well. I'm positive we're going to win, to be honest. ... We're going to go out there to win, or they're coming out here to lose.''

Seeing as folks in Texas take their football seriously, Peterson's comments doubtless will find their way to the Cowboys' Valley Ranch headquarters.

Tuesday, September 20, 2005

I was about to blog my little heart out about the unbelievable night Roy Williams was having. Williams was playing phenomenally, and through 1 game and 56 minutes of the next, it was all good with Roy stepping up and making play after play. But, a game is not 56 minutes long. It is 60, and sadly enough for the Boys, Roy Williams was in on both bombs to Santana Moss. His coverage was late, and with help from Aaron Glenn will be seen as the goat on those fateful plays.

But, let’s not forget that this game was over when Drew Bledsoe hit Keyshawn Johnson on 3rd down and the Redskins had just spent the last of their timeouts. From there, it was over. But, hold everything, Penalty on Flozell Adams. Not good timing, Flo. Talk about a game losing flag.

From there, you had the 70 yard touchdown to Moss, on a classic 2 play drive. And then, after Tyson Thompson’s big return to mid field, Sean Taylor hits Patrick Crayton so hard his family hurt, and saved another 1st down that would have helped put the Cowboys in range for a winning FG.

This one lingers for a while, so it is important that you make San Francisco pay on Sunday.

And then Brunell dropped back. And Santana Moss went long. And Parcells, the gruff, platinum-haired Cowboys coach, began employing some of the most questionable strategy imaginable in the final minutes. He did not nurse a 13-0 lead in the final four minutes; he neglected it until it frittered away to a sea of boos.After Brunell converted a fourth-and-15, 39-yard touchdown strike to Moss -- a game-over down if Brunell had not completed that pass -- Parcells suddenly was not interested in killing the clock and going home.

Four of the next six Dallas plays were stop-the-clock passes, including an errant first-down throw by Drew Bledsoe immediately after Brunell made it a game, with the Redskins trailing, 13-7.

But Gibbs's faith in Brunell seemed justified Monday night. After quite a few bad throws and five-yard flips that count for completions but nothing more, Brunell started to catch fire late -- very late. He had that great running-right, throwing-right pass that resulted in a 41-yard gain to Moss that served as a flashback to his glory days in Jacksonville, when he led the Jaguars to two AFC championship games. And on third and 27, after being thrown to the ground like a rag doll by the Cowboys' Roy Williams, Brunell dashed 25 yards and gave up his body to try and make a first down with his team down two scores late. Nobody ever said Brunell's spirit isn't willing; it just wasn't very wise after what we saw from him last season to presume he could find his old form.

The Stars play a home game tonight against Edmonton which will be televised on Channel 27. I am all for televising everything, but that seems like odd strategy for selling tickets. But, nevertheless, I am pleased to watch hockey again. In related news, HDNet has released its NHL schedule for High Definition broadcasts…Sounds good to me…

Monday, September 19, 2005

Tonight is a very big night for anyone who loves the Cowboys. Enjoy it. Those three Cowboys will live forever in your memories, and there might not be a trio in the NFL that can claim the accomplishments that these three can.

Also, please beware of the Redskins. There is no such thing as a sure thing in the NFL.

Once upon a time, lest Texans forget, it really was a rivalry. There are former Cowboys who insist that they could see the motel room curtains moving, where the devious Allen had planted a practice field spy.

By 1989, alas, Allen was gone, Roger Staubach had long retired, Tom Landry had been ousted, and Jimmy Johnson was bringing a winless Cowboys team into RFK Stadium to face the Redskins.

If Snyder was a more competent NFL owner, he could change that. When he hired Steve Spurrier away from the University of Florida in 2002, Snyder said, "The Redskins deserve to be back at the Super Bowl, and I am immensely confident that Steve is the coach to get us there."

I think this is the best way to describe what has happened in the NFL the first two weeks: Had I been in a knockout pool, I'd have taken Minnesota over Tampa Bay for Week 1 and Green Bay over Cleveland for Week 2. And I'd have been knocked out twice. That says three things. One: I have no idea what I'm talking about. Two: There's a good chance the Packers and Vikings are a lot worse than we thought. Three: This is really going to be a fun year.

Last week, we debated an email that asked us how many NFL players could dunk. I was pretty sure at least 2/3’s of all NFL players could dunk, but I also figured that Dat Nguyen would be one of them that could not dunk. I stand corrected …

Nguyen has come a long way since being recruited by Slocum on a tip that this Vietnamese-American could dunk a basketball from a flat-footed start. But when Nguyen was redshirted as a freshman in 1994, he weighed a fat 240 pounds and was extremely lonely away from home.

And, now some weekend email (or at least I waited to the weekend to answer it):

I haven't heard this talked about lately, but please put someone’s head on a platter for the Doug Davis move. Unbelievable how dumb this looks now.

Doug Davis

Ranks 10th in NL in IP (202.2) * Ranks 6th in NL in SO (183)* Ranks 1st in NL in BB (88) * Ranks 9th in NL in BAA (.235)

John Hart is incredible.

Brandon Horton

And, for you two or three that aren’t convinced that Hicks is making money:

Bob,

In your ongoing quest to prove that Tom Hicks is one of the worst owners in Major League Baseball, some more evidence has just been announced.

ESPN has announced a new eight year, $2.368 Billion television contract for Baseball. The contract will average $296 Million per year, over $100 Million more than they averaged in previous years. So, lets take a look at the national media contracts MLB has and how they benefit the Texas Rangers.

We are talking national media contracts, not talking anything locally....

AnnuallyESPN TV deal - $296 MillionFOX TV deal - $410 Million (due to renew in 2006, and will take a huge bump in pay to renew)ESPN Radio deal - $11 MillionESPN Internet Deal - $30 MillionXM Satellite Deal - $60 MillionTOTAL - $807 Million annually for NATIONAL media contracts. Divided by the 30 teams and each team gets roughly $27 Million per year. When the Fox contract is renewed, that number could easily jump to $30-$35 Million per year.

So, as Tom Hicks continues his quest for the $50 Million payroll, it is entirely conceivable that 70% of the players costs could be taken care of before one fan buys a ticket, one beer is sold, one local television is turned on, one car stereo is tuned to KRLD, one fan purchases a jersey, one advertisement deal is done, before anything.

Tom Hicks could very well become the best at what he is doing. He could very well put more money in his pocket than any other owner in baseball.

Chris Braaten

But, wait. There’s more:

Boys:

Was amazed once again with Hicks comments. I get the feeling the more he repeats the lies he puts out, the easier it will be for him to believe he is telling the truth.

Two points:

1) When Hicks says the team doesn't have the attendance level to make for higher payroll, tell him the Rangers are sixth in the AL with nearly 32,000 per game. They also have 120 luxury suites. And this is for a sub . 500 third place team. Seems to me they have plenty of attendance.

2) When he brings up not being able to afford free agent pitching, bring up the deal the Indians gave to Kevin Millwood. Has the best ERA in the AL, and the Tribe got him for peanuts. The Rangers showed no interest, even though they had far worse ptiching coming into the season than the Indians. Millwood had had a few injuries, but he had a good history as a starter, and was worth the risk. But not for a team that puts profits first.

Tribe beat the A's again tonight. Have the headress on.

Dan McGraw

On to college football:

This is utter hypocracy. If Texas lost to TCU (at home) and barely beat a Tulsa team (at home), that Minnesota dealt with efficiently, after 4 consecutive top 3 recruiting classes then Mack wouldn't hear the end of it. Yet the Dallas Morning News says:

"There is no question that OU's talent level is down this season. The Sooners lost 10 players in the NFL draft. Nine of those 10 were on NFL opening-day rosters. OU is left with a bevy of young, inexperienced players who make mistakes. Or even worse, they just may not be as good as the players on the other side of the line of scrimmage."EXCUSE ME!!!! Just not as good as the players that line up on the other side of the line of scrimmage. So they are gonna try to play the not enough talent card. Not enough talent to battle perennial juggernauts like TCU and Tulsa. Give me a break!!!!!

How is the DMN gonna play the not enough talent card with OU? These guys recruited the #1 QB (Bomar) and the #1 Runningback (Petersen) in the same year, yet they dont have the talent. If this was Mack Brown we'd constantly hear about how Mack doesn't develop talent or isn't a gameday coach (points that are still consistently made despite Mack's streak of 9 win seasons).

Mack has lost plenty of talent year after year, but hasn't sucked against a team (Tulsa) that North Texas will destroy.

They need to call a spade a spade. During the first two weeks of the 2005 season Bob Stoops has done a very poor coaching job, Period. I don't want hear any crap about being out talented.

Two words: National Title. When Mack Brown wins one, then the media will love him and make excuses for him. Bob Stoopes has that, and therefore is afforded plenty of slack when his team goes south.

Bob,

CIS Group is sponsoring a charity golf tournament on Thursday October 6th at Doral Tesoro in Fort Worth. All proceeds are going to the National Military Family Association (www.nmfa.org). We would love to get some P1’s to participate, sponsor or donate rounds of golf to local military personnel. Would it be possible to have you announce this? My contact info is below if you have any questions…Thanks so much!

A loyal P1 myself…Andrea Harnessaharness@cisgroup.net

Cool. Please support this worthy cause if you can!And, finally this one:

Just got back from the area last week. Im a local officer and P1. A group of us went on our own time, took vacation, to assist the local law enforcement in the area. It was definitely eye opening. Channel 4,11, and 5 did a spot on it. 4 and 11 before we left, then 5 did a sit down interview with us when we returned.

i heard the hardline talking about celebrities hamming it up down there for some face time, and unfortunately some of this was true. Id have to say that several of them didnt do much to help, but rather detracted manpower away for their personal protection details.

However, we were working in the southern portions when John Travolta and his wife (certainly a nice piece) landed in a helicopter and delivered a huge amount of food and water, along with new uniforms for the officers that had been affected.

The local officers had great stories about the experience, and were quite resilient all things considered.

As a side note for Dan, when posing for a photo with Travolta, I smiled for the camera and stated 'royale with cheese', which he repeated. quite cool.

Shaun

Don’t forget to read the stuff posted this weekend. I think I posted 3 entries on Sunday, so keep scrolling, dude.

Over the weekend, in my pretty routine vasectomy recovery, I got caught up on Lost (now prepared for the season premier on Wednesday), watched Ocean’s 12 (which might have been decent had anyone bothered to write a script), and also viewed the first episode of Survivor: Guatemala.

First, some background. I have never missed a second of the show Survivor. I know, it sounds really gay, but it is true. I have seen every second of every minute of every episode. So, although I don’t claim I retain any of the knowledge (very similar to high school and college science classes), I do claim to be something of an aficionado on the topic.

Now, on to the 11th season of Survivor, Episode 1. The new twist this year is that two old contestants get to play again this year. So, Stephenie and Bobby Jon are back from Survivor 10, and have each been given to one of the tribe’s to offer some guidance and competition. Wow. What a wild twist. By the way, is Bobby Jon a sufficient red-neck name?

This Week’s Survivor Game

Whose name makes them sound like the biggest red neck?

A) Bobby Jon Drinkard – From Troy, Alabama

Or

B) Jim Bob Cooter – From Lynchburg, Tennessee

That’s Right; the 3rd string QB for Tennessee is named Jim Bob Cooter , and he has the bigger red-neck name…Although we cannot confirm if he is kin to this man:

Now, back to Survivor. So, they introduce the new cast of characters, and again, No Fat Chicks! What a coincidence that despite the fact that we are led to believe that it is a jury of our peers in cast selection, the girls all appear to be at least borderline models. I’ll be darned. But, the real upset this season appears to be that there is no minority representation (well, Lydia is from Japan, but you know what I mean). It generally didn’t take long for whitey to gang up on the random minority and vote them right off in previous seasons, but through one episode, I am pretty certain that Bobby Jon and Jim Bob will feel right at home.

But, there is the random old person, or, there was, until 58 minutes into the new season, Fire Captain Jim was sent packing.

Former Cowboys great Gary Hogeboom is the “celebrity” in Survivor 11, and is using a fake name so that no one recognizes him. I read somewhere that someone does recognize him in a future episode, but c’mon! Who are we kidding? If this was Roger Staubach or Joe Montana, I could see fear of being recognized, but Gary Hogeboom? Are we serious? I don’t believe for a second that a single member of that cast has ever heard of him, let alone would know what he looks like so that they could “blow his cover”. Put it this way, I love sports and live sports more than anyone I know, and I couldn’t recognize him before Thursday night.

The other cast member that is interesting is a supposed Girl Sports Talk Show Host, named Danni Boatwright . Since my money says she will be the one to “out” Hogeboom, I am already questioning her sports credentials. Partly because this seems all too convenient (the first time an ex-athlete is on the show, so is a sports media member) and partly because I don’t believe that dudes can listen to girls talk about sports on a regular basis in a talk show format. I realize that is incredibly sexist, but sue me, or prove me wrong.

To put an punctuation mark on the week and to help get the next one started 610 Sports has put together a Sunday morning show to give you an off-beat, informed, and maybe even a little contentious show: 610 Sports Rap. Every Sunday morning you can check out MetroSports reporter Chris Gough and former Miss Kansas Danni Boatwright. Chris is an MU alum while Danni went to college at KU, so you'll get the male-female disagreements and the Jayhawk-Tiger differences. With that kind of conflict, you know you'll get a unique view on everything happening in the world of sports.

I believe I am adding a feature to Bob’s Blog that has to do with college football. It is called “the 1 player that stuck out to me in a game I watched that I wasn’t very aware of”. Therefore, just assume I think Adrian Peterson, Vince Young, and Reggie Bush are good. These are dudes that have stuck out to me in a given game, and maybe on draft day they will be solid NFL players or maybe they won’t be, but they sure caught my football eye.

Since I am starting this bit in week #3, I will post a few names from previous weeks, too.

The grass surface at Dolphins Stadium is in such a depleted state that center fielder Juan Pierre said for the first time in his pro career he was thinking of wearing a protective cup to prevent a bad-hop injury.

''You'll definitely see me going down to one knee to field base hits,'' Pierre said.

``It's [the playing surface] probably the worst I've seen it since I've been here.''

Irvin contends, Favre stuck his nose where it didn't belong — and Packers receiver Javon Walker will pay a hefty price for it.

"Now, this is a story here," said Irvin, the former star receiver for the University of Miami and Dallas Cowboys. "This boy (Walker) came back into camp because of Brett Favre. The great Brett Favre. This is not some rookie quarterback calling him out when he was asking for his money. This is the great Brett Favre."

"I love Brett, I appreciate Brett. But Brett should know business is business," said Irvin, who was at Dolphins camp on Thursday for a ESPN feature. "You don't mess with another man's business.

"Now, what do you do, Brett? If I'm Brett, how you can walk in the room when you just did surgery to say, 'Hey, man, I'm sorry this has happened?' How could you do it? How could you look that man in his eyes?"

When asked Wednesday if he regretted his previous comments, Favre said no.

"I feel terrible about what happened because it doesn't help our team any," said Favre, who makes upward of $10 million a year. "But he's young. It's hard for him to believe it right now, but I promise you, he'll come back better. His contract situation will take care of itself. I still think he'll make a lot of money."

So, let me get this straight. Javon Walker signs a deal. Doesn’t like it. Holds out of mini-camp. Complains. Favre tells him to shut up and get to camp. Walker does. Gets hurt. And Favre is the bad guy? Sports are screwed up. Oh well, Irvin is going in the Ring of Honor tomorrow night.

I know it is old, but did Henry Melton score? The evidence claims he did:

And finally, sometimes I am asked what sport I followed most closely when I was growing up. Usually, the answer was football. But, a close 2nd can be seen in one picture below:

If you were hoping to catch Monday night's Ring of Honor ceremony at halftime of ABC's nationally broadcast Cowboys-Redskins game, you're out of luck.

The induction of Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin and Emmitt Smith will be pre-empted by a NFL telethon to benefit victims of Hurricane Katrina. The entire 12-minute halftime will be devoted to the fundraising effort, Monday Night Football producer Fred Gaudelli confirmed on Thursday.

Not that Monday Night Football, whose audience extends far beyond Cowboys fans, would have shown the entire ceremony anyway. Rather ABC most likely would have offered an edited version before the start of the second half, Gaudelli said.

"We were so lucky to see this town become nonpartisan," Walker said. "No political differences, no racial differences. Everybody, 1,000 percent, hated Dallas. It was an overwhelming aura."

Last season, Gibbs and the Redskins suffered a pair of agonizing losses, 21-18 and 13-10.

But it goes beyond the Cowboys always winning. Once, when both teams were special, every game was big.

"There was a time when the team that won the game would usually win the division," Madden said. That time seems long ago and far away.

I start to wonder how much Good Old Days Syndrome is involved here. Every time these two teams play, we have to hear everyone suggest that it isn’t like it used to be. Doesn’t that have more to do with the Redskins being good and the Cowboys being good than it does with the young kids not understanding the rivalry? The Rivalry will continue the second the game becomes important again.

America’s Most Confusing College Football Team? TCU. So they win in Norman, Lose at SMU, and now beat Utah?….That, kids, is why we don’t gamble…

Thursday, September 15, 2005

Jeff e-mailed me this yesterday after our newest rant about the idiocy of Tom Hicks, most recently on Norm’s show:

How come when Mark Cuban is on your show and says he has realized he needs to spend more wisely and cut payroll you didn't say those comments you make about Hicks to him?

Regards,

jeff

So, I needed more clarification:

Are you asking why we don't ask Cuban about Hicks or why we don't badger Cuban about spending? I think the answer to both is obvious - Hicks has nothing to do with Cuban and Cuban has spent more than anyone this side of Steinbrenner, but I was curious what you meant-

So, Jeff sent me his response:

Thanks for you answer. That is where I was going. Cuban has spent and for what result? No championship. Then said he realized it wasn't the way to go. Yet, you and your partner yuck it up with him and jump on Hicks for the exact same thing. You are being a total hypocrite. Go listen to the tapes. BTW when did it start being wrong for a business owner to not worry about the bottom line.

Jeff

I wanted to respond to this guy on the blog, because despite the fact that there are many, many legions of fans that agree with us about Hicks, there are plenty that think like Jeff does: that since Hicks is the owner, he has the right to run his team any way he wishes.

I disagree. Oh sure, it is not illegal to pocket profits and not care about winning. If that were the case, the Bidwell family would have had the Cardinals stripped from them many years ago.

But, I believe there is a responsibility to the community to reinvest a reasonable amount of your profits back in your organization. Tom Hicks passed that test with flying colors for many years. In fact, Hicks used to be in the same category as Jerry Jones and Mark Cuban as “owners who would stop at nothing to win”. That is every fan’s dream. An owner who likes money, but loves winning. If they didn’t, they could make money in real estate. But, they got in sports because they are obsessed with the business of winning.

But, in 2004 and 2005, it has appeared Tom Hicks’ goal was to make back that which he lost in previous years. Winning was not nearly as important as a profit. Now, it is really easy to talk winning, but it should not be forgotten that since trading Alex Rodriguez, some 20 months ago, no player from outside the organization has been signed to a significant contract of any kind.

How does this relate to the summer of Cuban where he shed huge dollars by sending Michael Finley away? A summer where he apparently has learned spending the most will not help him catch the Spurs? A few things:

1) You cannot compare the two, since Cuban has spent as much money as any franchise in the sport. It would be similar to Hicks spending more than the Yankees, without the Yankees revenue streams. Cuban has taken MAJOR losses, and if you check his math, which I have, it is easy to see that he has lost tremendous amounts of money. Meanwhile, if you check the math on Hicks, it is highly debatable that a team could come close to losing money with anything below a $80 million dollar payroll.

2) Cuban talks a good game (about saving money), but we all know he won’t have the self control not to spend more money when the right deal comes along. He is obsessed with winning, to a point that he can’t say “no” to a Juwan Howard deal or a Raef Lafrentz deal or an Antoine Walker deal. He always makes deals for basketball reasons not financial reasons. That is what you want from an owner. And despite his supposed new ways, I will believe it when I see it.

3) Third, and to me the biggest difference between Hicks and Cuban, is that Cuban does what he does, and then properly communicates his message in such a way that you actually believe him. Meanwhile Hicks says things like, “the owner has to stop writing checks” and “unfortunately, it worked, the Stars won the Stanley Cup”. The more he talks, the less you believe what he says.

And finally, to that idea of “shouldn’t an owner be allowed to run his business any way he want?” Shouldn’t a profit be allowed? Yes. When you sell a team for a $100-$500 million profit, you will realize the dollars that you always hoped for. Year to year losses are very common, but overall profits are amazing. The Vikings were sold a few months ago for $600 million dollars, after the owner, Red McCombs had bought them in 1998 for $246 million. This is pretty common these days on the sales of sports franchises.

In fact, if you no longer want to spend on your team, sell it! Then, you get your money, and your fans get a competitive team that wants to reinvest its major revenues in the product.

I really don’t want to write much about this, but the sad piano is playing, as our buddy Gabe Kapler suffered a substantial setback last night.

Then, in the fifth, Kapler reached on an error. Would everything have been different if he hadn't reached base? Or was the injury something that was building inside his leg, the tendon weakening, ready to explode, perhaps later in the game? He'll likely never know, but he won't forget how the injury occurred.

The next batter, Graffanino, launched a ball to left that was anything but a no-doubter. Kapler reached second gaining steam as the ball cleared the fence, then crumpled.

''I've never in my 18 years seen a home run and seen a guy blow out at second base," Wells remarked.

Suddenly, I find myself fretting that the Rangers' crop of young pitchers is having too much success in September.

How's that for a flip-flop?

Seriously, we really do have to worry. It's entirely conceivable that Tom Hicks, who just this week admitted publicly that the Rangers have become "a very profitable team" again, will use the surprising September performances of Kameron Loe, Juan Dominguez and even R.A. Dickey to rationalize not signing free-agent pitching this off-season.

"I don't think that will happen," general manager John Hart said Wednesday while he watched the Rangers and Orioles wrapping up their series on another scorching late-summer afternoon in front of a handful of sun worshipers at The Ballpark in Arlington. "Had a money-pitcher been there at the [trade] deadline, Tom wasn't blinking at that."

Wednesday, September 14, 2005

Gibbs delayed his news conference by a half hour yesterday to inform Ramsey when the quarterback returned to the Redskins Park after leaving in the morning.

ESPN reported in a telecast last night that Ramsey requested a trade at the meeting. But neither Gibbs nor Ramsey -- whose contract expires after the 2006 season -- could be reached for comment last night. And Ramsey's agent, Jimmy Sexton, didn't return a call. Gibbs said at his news conference that he expects Ramsey, 26, to be the backup quarterback.

Joe Gibbs never bought into Ramsey. That was abundantly clear with the acquisition of Mark Brunell last year. Even as Gibbs was proclaiming Ramsey to be his guy after last season, Gibbs used a first-round pick to secure Jason Campbell in the draft. That had to be reassuring to Ramsey. He was the starting quarterback through the gnashed teeth of Gibbs.

And so after all the offseason proclamations and 26 snaps, we are going back to Brunell and an offense that dulls the senses.

Brunell is the master of the 2-yard dink pass, contrary to the recent assertions of Gibbs that Brunell somehow has morphed into Bob Feller at this advanced point in his career.

You saw Brunell's downfield pop-up against the Bears. It was intercepted and returned for big yardage, only to be nullified by a pass-interference penalty. Brunell no doubt makes far fewer mistakes than Ramsey. But he lacks the capacity to make big plays, too.

In nearly three quarters, Brunell threw for a whopping 70 yards, 35 fewer than Ramsey in his one-plus quarter of action.

In a season filled with clubhouse turmoil, the newly acquired, and very unproductive, Phil Nevin is apparently fitting right in...

The DMN's Rangers notes for Monday morning has this to say:

Phil Nevin had a frustrating day at the park on Sunday. It started with a lineup change that dropped the Rangers designated hitter from cleanup to seventh. It ended when he was ejected after arguing a called strike three in the second inning.

When Nevin saw the lineup card that was posted before 11 a.m. in the clubhouse, he was listed as the cleanup hitter. The card showed Marshall McDougall starting at third base and Hank Blalock getting the day off.

But Blalock told manager Buck Showalter he felt good and wanted to play, so around 11:30 a.m. a new lineup card was posted with Blalock batting cleanup and Nevin hitting seventh.

Nevin said to someone walking in the clubhouse [and loud enough for everyone to hear]: "You should have been here, I was hitting fourth. It was a big day for a minute. It was going to be like old times, back when I was good." Nevin then walked by Blalock's locker and said, "Way to go, Hank."

Wow.

And again, this is a guy that the team is talking up as being at least a semi-regular on their 2006 team.

It will be interesting to see how Buck reacts to this. Personally, I'd rather see Jason Botts get Nevin's ABs the rest of the way, anyway...

But it makes no sense, to me, that a guy who has the reputation Buck does, of being a control freak, someone who keeps a tight lid on things, is having these sorts of things erupt on the team. We had the Barajas/Drese fight, the Soriano tantrum over being benched, the Rogers/camerman incident, the ongoing public complaining by Teixeira and Young over the front office's inactivity, Soriano's ongoing refusal to hustle or run anything out...

And now, we've got Nevin throwing a tantrum over being dropped to the #7 slot, when, in light of his awful production of late, he should just be happy he's in the lineup.

"How good is he? He's a good talker," Johnson said. "He's a real good talker. He's a solid corner. As a matter of fact, can we send Fred a message?"Johnson leaned forward and said: "Smoot, let's go. That's it. That's the message for this week."

Who's the better trash talker, Chad or Fred?

"That's a good question," Johnson said. "I don't know. We have to ask him. Smoot, who talks better trash? Make sure he gets that."Johnson has a laminated sheet in his locker listing the cornerbacks he'll face this season. The names are under the headline: "Who covered 85 in 2005." Smoot's name is next.

Rice gave it one last chance in Denver, but when he found out that he could not even be the team's third receiver, Jerry had to walk away. There was no way his competitive nature would allow him to sit and watch a game while he stood on the sideline.

- This tells me that a the offense has not carried this team in the 2plus years that Parcells has lead them. During his tenure, the defense will be the barometer of what this teamwill do throughout the year..... This also tells me that if you want an offense shootout, watch thisteam on the road...... Either that, or I have too much time on my hands looking up stats....